Death Be Shifted (The Terra Vane Series Book 6)

by Katie Epstein

  “It is good to meet you finally.” He studied me, his eyes narrowed. “Agent Terra Vane.”

  “You too, Alpha.” I bowed my head, not knowing what else to do.

  Kaleb appeared behind him, an elegantly dressed female shifter holding onto his arm. Wily and fragile, that’s what I thought when I first saw her, her honey shaded hair falling in waves around her shoulders. She smiled when she saw me, quickly avoiding my gaze when Alpha Theodulf Cipher turned to see her approach.

  Kaleb didn’t look happy, but to me, he said, “Terra, this is my mother, Josefina.”

  “It’s wonderful to meet you,” I said to her. She smiled gently, her eyes still focused on the floor.

  “We’re here to visit our allies,” Theodulf boomed, dragging my attention back to him. “And I’m sure the Alpha of Caladonia Moor welcomes us on his lands. Don’t you, Brent?”

  “Of course,” Brent replied, agitated but holding it back.

  “Very good. But before we dine, I’ve brought someone with me.”

  At such words, people stepped aside to let someone through, creating a pathway. I noticed a familiar head bobbing through the crowd.

  Oh crap!

  Now the shit had hit the fan.

  “Hello, Agent Vane,” Cole said, his jaw clenched, a storm brewing in his eyes. He bore his gaze into me. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  25

  “Chief Cipher,” I whispered.

  The rage emanated from him. “I’d like a word with Agent Vane in private,” Cole ground out, looking to his father.

  “Of course,” Theodulf replied, a smug tilt to his lips. “Do as you must. I will go with Brent, and we can talk about what’s going on here.” He turned to look at Brent and Anya. “I’m sure you can accommodate us and a few more wolves are on their way for a night or two. Can you not?”

  “It would be an honor,” Brent said, glancing at me in wariness. “Come this way, Alpha, and we’ll break some bread.”

  “I’ll go with Terra and Cole,” Kaleb spoke up, urging his mother’s arm out of his own.

  “You shall do no such thing!” Theodulf boomed. “Your mother needs you.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I reassured Kaleb, silently urging him to go with the others. His expression neutral, I knew him too well. There was a hardness to his jaw, a rigidity in his shoulders. He looked close to shifting, the tension in him brewing. But when his mother fed her arm back through his, he calmed some, enough to nod briefly at me before falling into step with his father. Several wolves, who I assumed accompanied Theodulf, followed close behind.

  “Come with me,” Cole snapped, ordering me into Brent and Anya’s cabin. I watched Kaleb retreat as Brent led them toward the fire pit to dine. “Agent Vane!”

  Trailing into the cabin behind him, Cole ordered me into Brent’s study and slammed the door.

  “I don’t even know where to begin!” he hissed, turning on me.

  “Cole…”

  “Don’t you call me that! Don’t you dare call me that! I am Chief Cipher to you. Your boss. And I—” He slammed his hands down onto the desk. “I can barely look at you right now.”

  Old feelings, the care I had for him, all twisted in my stomach causing tears to well at the sight of his anger—at his disappointment. He looked like he wore the world on his shoulders.

  “Chief Cipher, if you would—”

  “Do you know how I felt when I got a summons from my father saying you were investigating in Totem Talamh?”

  “No—”

  “You’re supposed to be on Earthside, for goodness sake! It completely blindsided me. To find out you’d not only come over here without telling me, but you’d stirred up shit by taking the IET into the shifter lands—” His voice broke off, an exasperated laugh escaped, unable to find the words. “I don’t understand. I don’t know what the hell you’re playing at. But you have caused one hell of a shit storm, one I need to try to temper down and control before it’s too late!”

  “We had a lead on an escaped prisoner.”

  “A lead? You had a lead?” He threw his hands up. “Agent Faraway is the one leading the team to track down escaped prisoners over here. Why did you not pass the lead onto him?”

  Not wanting to sell out Faraway, I gnawed on my lip. “We discovered the Alphas had put the shifter lands on lockdown to the PCA and IET and that they were dealing with the situation in-house. We felt it necessary to investigate to avoid political manipulation and confrontation should a shifter member of the PCA become involved.”

  “PCA? Do you forget I run the PCA?”

  “And you’re a shifter. I couldn’t risk it. So I made a call to investigate intending to back off quickly should nothing come to pass.”

  “If it was so innocent then why not tell me of your intentions?”

  “Because of who your father is, Sir,” I told him, standing tall, lifting my chin, and falling onto the professional line he’d drawn between us.

  “Are you thinking I wouldn’t be objective?”

  “I wasn’t sure,” I replied honestly.

  His eyes flared once more. He had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself. “Have you found anything to the effect of an escaped prisoner?”

  “Yes. We believe so.”

  “Who?”

  “Torroro of the Dark Hills.”

  He snatched his head around. “What?”

  “The reptile shifter. We found a tooth in the lake where a victim was found dead. Kaleb scented something reptilian in the same area. And I had a vision.”

  “Of what?”

  “Of someone who felt and thought like Torroro. We spoke of setting a trap before you got here. After that, once we’d caught him, we would have left before your father even caught wind of us being here. May I ask a question, Sir?”

  His lips firm, he replied, “You may.”

  “How is it your father knew we were here?”

  Cole’s shoulders relaxed some. He moved toward Brent’s chair and sat down. “A young shifter from Caladonia Moor came with a message telling him so.”

  “Who?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Was it someone named Bevren, by any chance?”

  Cole said nothing. He didn’t need to.

  Some of my professionalism slipped alongside a curse from my mouth. “Bevren is grieving because of a recent loss at the hands of the reptile shifter. He’s angry. And he’s aiming that anger at Brent and me. He threatened Mayra, claiming to burn the witch, all while she tried hard to save a shifter’s life. She’s sleeping it off now.”

  “How many were attacked?”

  “Three now. One dead.”

  “Who died?”

  “Varden River.”

  “Damn,” he whispered, rubbing his face. “He was a good shifter.”

  “He was well respected here. I can see that.”

  He glanced up at me. “Are you and Kaleb together now?” he asked tentatively. He looked uncomfortable. I felt it.

  “Why are you asking?”

  “Bevren. He explained how you two are all over each other.”

  “What? Just because we shared a beer and a burger—”

  “Don’t you lie to me!” he roared back on his feet once more. “Whatever you do, from this moment on, don’t you dare lie to me!”

  “Fine.” I threw up my hands, hurting at the thought of making him suffer. “We’re trying, okay? We’re trying to be more than just friends.”

  He took a step forward angrily, fists clenched. I stepped back, flinching.

  “Goddamn it, Terra!” He shoved his hands through his hair. “I wasn’t going to hit you!”

  “I know that,” I said, my voice trailing off.

  He paced, and I kept my head lowered. Hurt, pain, anger, I felt everything from him, and I hated it.

  Cole.

  Someone who I cared about, and who I once saw a future with.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered. He stopped in his tracks, resigning himself to face me.r />
  “You need to keep your mouth shut from this moment on. Do you understand?”

  I went to say something, but he stopped me. “You follow orders,” he demanded. “You follow my lead because of my father…”

  “I know.”

  “No,” he snapped. “You don’t. You know nothing. My father wants your damn badge. And he has a file on you. Chris and Rosie’s names are in there. He’s dredged up things about your past. The only reason he’s not pushing for you to get stripped of your EFA badge, let alone your IET one, is because I told him I’d ordered you to come here undercover on the premise of helping him with his political agenda. Thankfully, he bought it. I also have a contact at the Consilium who has reassured me no matter what my father pulls regarding your IET position, as long as you give them no reason to fire you, my father will have no influence. Not when it’s related to world security. They will make sure of it. So for now at least your job is safe. But I can’t say the same for Chris or Rosie.”

  Fury filled me in a rush. Tears welled and my head pounded. “He has no right,” I said through gritted teeth, wanting to tear Theodulf’s head from his shoulders for threatening my family.

  “He may not have a right, but that won’t stop him from trying. Your saving grace is that Chris has deep connections with the labs; his security is high. The Senates will ask too many questions if my father stirs that pot. But my father doesn’t know that. It won’t stop him from trying and causing problems that none of us need right now. So toe the line, Agent Vane. Tread carefully, so I can protect what’s needed.”

  The anger faded away at the thought of him doing so, and at the fact he would do it after all that had passed between us. I nodded, willing to do anything for him at that moment.

  Putting his hands on his hips, he hesitated. “I heard you got hurt again. With the demon inside The Bard.”

  “The others got there in time.” I looked to the floor so he wouldn’t see my tears.

  “I don’t underestimate you,” he said in a rush.

  “What?” I lifted my head as a tear fell. He noticed.

  “I said I don’t underestimate you.” He sighed, taking a step closer. “I know what you’re capable of, even if I come down on you hard. There is no one better to lead the IET. And I will fight to keep you on it.”

  I swallowed hard, my watery eyes on his, and I saw the truth of it swirling along with the pain etched on his face. “Thank you,” I whispered, not realizing how much I needed to hear that.

  He brushed a tear away from my cheek unable to resist. “Sorry.” He turned away, paced some more. Then he stilled. “I understand our reasons for going our separate ways. I understand why…”

  “I hate this,” I whispered.

  “Me, too.” His voice shook, and I almost lost it.

  Clamping my lips together, I told him, “I will follow your lead. I’ll do what’s needed.”

  “Good.” He reached for me but stopped himself. “I need to go.” He put his hand on the door. “My younger brother, Eli, will follow soon with more wolves at his back. Not enough to portray a threat, but enough to show Brent he means business. Let Kaleb know.”

  “I will.”

  “All right. Stand down, Agent Vane.” He hesitated. “Stay out of his way, too.”

  “Eli’s?”

  “Yes. Because Bevren has planted the seed of something going on between you and Kaleb, Eli will soon know. And everything Kaleb has, Eli seeks to destroy.”

  A coldness settled within me. “I’ll stay out of his way.”

  “Make sure you do.”

  He left the room in haste; the door banging against the wall. And my heart banging along with it.

  26

  Kaleb walked in on me when I took a moment’s solace to cry away my hurts in the shower.

  “Damn it,” I choked on a sob upon seeing him, trying to get out of the slippery surface while the water rained down. He caught my naked form when I slipped.

  “Careful,” he said, grabbing a towel from the rail and wrapping it around me. “Any other time I’d love you throwing yourself at me naked.” He lifted me out of the tub, turning off the shower. “What’s wrong?”

  “Kaleb, I’m fine,” I pushed at his shoulder, my voice betraying me.

  “No. You’re not fine. Cut the bullshit.”

  Struggling out of his grasp, I held onto the towel and marched off into the bedroom with him on my tail.

  “Terra…”

  “Kaleb, I said I’m fine.”

  “And I call bullshit. So where does that leave us?”

  Turning my back to him, I dried myself, snatching the clothes off the bed and hurriedly putting them on.

  “Are you okay?” I tried changing the subject. “With your dad here and all?”

  “I’m fine.” He caught my arm, turning me around. “You want to keep doing this dance all night, or are you going to tell me what the hell Cole said to you that’s made you so upset?”

  “Kaleb.”

  “Terra…” He mimicked the action of swinging a bat. “Now it’s your turn.”

  My lips twitched. “Shut up.”

  “No. I won’t.” He sat down on the bed and encouraged me to do the same. “Will you tell me, please?”

  Sighing, I sat down and tucked my legs beneath me. “It’s nothing. I don’t think.”

  “What? Nothing makes you cry now?”

  “Do you not know women at all?”

  “I know you. And I know it’s not that time of the month,”

  “For shit’s sake!”

  “And I know you got pissed earlier with Brent. But you’ve probably worked through that by now.”

  “So what? I can’t just cry because I feel like it?”

  “My father’s turned up, most likely putting you on your guard. Brent side shifted you, looking to me for guidance. That almost definitely made you angry, but not sad. Not to sob like that. Only one person can make you cry like that.”

  “Cole isn’t the only person able to make me cry.”

  “No. I know. But you’re both still hurting after ending what you had. And it’s the first time you’ve seen him since. You probably felt guilty for hurting him, knowing you’re with me now. And knowing Cole, he wouldn’t have made it easy for you. Especially finding out you’ve gone behind his back to investigate in Totem Talamh. Am I right so far?”

  “You should be the damn psychic,” I muttered. I may also have pouted a little. He smiled with satisfaction.

  “I’m just that good.”

  “And bigheaded.”

  “That, too. But when you’ve got the facts to back it up…”

  Rolling my eyes, I reached for the comb I’d left on the nightstand. “You done now?”

  “No. What did he say?”

  “I don’t have to tell you everything, Kaleb.”

  “I never said you did. But he upset you. And I don’t like you being upset.” He put his hand up to stop me before I could say anything more. “I won’t go after him. That’s your business, okay? But I figure it’s a given we can talk about this kind of stuff. I’m still your friend, aren’t I?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  He lay down on the bed, resting his hand on my leg. “You’re not the only one rocked by their arrival. I’m pissed, too. Fuming even. I haven’t seen my father for a long time… and Eli…”

  “He’s turned up?”

  “Yep. Strolled in like the twisted dick that he is. The first thing he says to me, ‘How’s Andora?’ I didn’t rise to it though.”

  Yanking my comb through my hair, I tried to take my fury out on the tangles. “You’re right. Your brother is a dick.”

  “Told you. But I’ve got to be honest. It was nice seeing my mother again. No matter how briefly.”

  “You favor her.”

  “Thanks,” he smiled, “I think so, too.”

  Leaning against the bedframe—now fixed, courtesy of a shifter Anya had sent over previously—I told him all of what Cole said. />
  “You know he’s trying to keep you in line, right?” he said once I finished, his face angry.

  “He’s trying to protect me. And Chris and Rosie. I’m the one who screwed up here, Kaleb.”

  “No. You didn’t screw up at all. Faraway gave a good enough argument, otherwise he would have gone to Cole. There’s a reason he didn’t, remember?”

  “He doesn’t trust Cole.”

  “He trusts him. Respects him a damn lot. But he also knows that Cole is jaded when it comes to my father. He’s listened to his orders for so long, and his wolf instinctively listens to his Alpha. Cole will think he’s doing right by either obeying him or running things by him, not realizing what a corruptive, vindictive asshole my father is.”

  “Well, he’s going against him now. He told him he’s the one who ordered us to come to the shifter lands. Cole wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t protecting me. If he wasn’t protecting us.”

  He pressed his lips together. “I don’t know if it’s because you’re that naïve or if he’s just that good at making you feel so guilty, you can’t think straight.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Did you not read your IET contract?”

  “Of course I did!”

  “Then you understand Cole is not your only boss in this. Not as a member of the IET. We report into him, yes, but we also have a dotted line into the Consilium. If you felt there was a threat Cole could jeopardize that because of a conflict of interest, you are well within your rights to act as you have. But you’ve let him blindside you again, let him make you feel as if you’re in the wrong for not getting his clearance to be here.”

  “But shifter politics…”

  “Are something you hate. Something you’ve always stood against. So what did he say? That you’re a good agent after he kicked your ass? That he trusts you? Believes in you?”

  “No!” I snapped, knowing he hadn’t said those words directly, but…

  “What then? Did he show you his pain? Try to kiss you? Hold you? Show you how he’s the bigger man for still believing in you, even after you hurt him?”

  As he cut too close to home, confusing me, my defenses flew up. “You’re out of line.”